Retired judge, diverse crowd pay tribute to MLK Jr.

A racially diverse crowd was on hand as retired Judge Roger Lile paid tribute to the slain civil rights leader at the annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Monday night in the First Baptist Church on Regent Street.

A racially diverse crowd was on hand as retired Judge Roger Lile paid tribute to the slain civil rights leader at the annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Monday night in the First Baptist Church on Regent Street.

Lile, a New Philadelphia native, drew upon his college major in history, his 40 years of practicing and applying the law as an attorney and a judge, and more than 30 years of teaching Sunday School in Emmanuel Lutheran Church to honor King's life, dreams, words and achievements.

Lile, who served as judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Tuscarawas County from 1981 to 1998, said that King was a precocious student who skipped both the ninth and 12th grades.

He added that King, who entered Morehouse College at age 15, graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1948, and in 1951, with a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pa.

King went on to become pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., and immediately began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University. He received his Ph.D. in June 1955.

That was the year, Lile said, "that King began his efforts to bring attention to laws that paid lip service to the Constitution, and the continuing racial injustice in the United States, especially the Southern states."

King, he added, was determined to use non-violent tactics, boycotts, peaceful demonstrations and sit-ins to bring about changes in attitudes and strike down the Jim Crow law that pervaded the South.

"His actions were often in violation of the law, and led to his arrest on many occasions," Lile said. He added that King was arrested and detained in April 1963 for participating in a peaceful demonstration in Birmingham, Ala. His offense was leading a parade without a required permit, which led to his being incarcerated and public admonishment by other clergy for being "unwise and untimely."

A letter that King wrote in response, while still in jail, "show that Dr. King had by this time become the national leader in the non-violent civil disobedience effort to fight racial injustice in the United States," Lile said.

The final paragraph of King's letter, which Lile said is the core statement, cautioned the clergy to understand the distinction between just and unjust laws. He noted that King wrote that one who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the penalty.

Lile was introduced by Rev. Christopher Lowery, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dover, which has hosted the program for the past 26 years

New Philadelphia Law Director Marvin Fete served as master of ceremonies and City Council President Sam Hitchcock presented an inspirational reading.

William Blake presented two solo music renditions, and Rev. William Blake, pastor of the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Dennison, gave the invocation. Rev. Archie Jackson, pastor of St. John's Worship and Praise Church in Uhrichsville, gave the benediction.

Page 2 of 2 - Attendees participated in the celebration through worship and the singing of gospel hymns. A reception was held afterward, with refreshments provided by the Tuscarawas County Republican Women and Tuscarawas County Council of Democratic Women organizations.